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Conan The Barbarian (1982)
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Reviews
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 THE GREATEST FILMSCORE EVER
by Godwin Borg (June 16, 2004)
The is was the score that started it all for me. This was the score that started it all for m.a.n.y. others as well. I was just a boy when I first heard this but my impressions and opinions were lifelong. With this score BASIL POLEDOURIS succeeded in elevating film music to a higher plateau, maybe I should have said the highest. Each and every note in this score can bring goosebumps as if at the first listen. It's bombastic, it's lush and in other moments it's exquisitely dreamy. Beautiful arrangements with highly dramatical choral parts. it's got the passion of a fine RÓZSA score, the dynamics of ORFF's Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi and the fire of a PROKOFIEV composition, but it's not imitating any. This score weighed heavily on the cult status of the movie, since it really had to fill (and how craftily did MAESTRO POLEDOURIS manage to do this!) there where only music could speak, there isn't much dialogue in the movie anyway, so in a way it's very much like scoring a 'silent' movie. A divinely completed task MAESRO!!! No review can ever do this score justice and my lifelong dream is that one day this score is released in its full glory and integrity (including the equisity source music tracks at the tavern, at the tower of Thulsa Doom's Cult and the Court of King Osric + any other material which was maybe recorded and not used) by someone, I guess Varese Sarabande owns the rights! If you like big orchestral scores than this is definitely the biggest and best one ever composed! Track by track this score transports you through a myriad of emotions and at the end you will only long for more!!! More Poledouris music more Conan music!
 Loud, Bombastic, Thrilling
by Shawn Watson (May 23, 2004)
The epic score to Conan the Barbarian is so huge, massive, gigantic and powerful that there are no words to aptly describe just how big it is. It's one of the hugest scores ever written.
Basil Poledouris is the man responsible. And while it's not as accomplished as his score for Conan the Destroyer this CD is a must have for movie and music fans. From the powerful opening 'Anvil of Crom/Riders of Doom' to the ethereal sounds of 'Atlantean Sword' to the sumptuous and exotic waltz of 'The Orgy' (a stunning, glorious track which was, amazingly co-composed by Poledouris' 7 year old daughter), the music takes back in time and space to the Hyborean age. With no modern influences this is the music of Conan's world.
What cripples this score though is the lack of a dominant theme. This would later occur, very strongly, in Conan the Destroyer. Here however, many different themes are visited just once and never brought back. So there's not much tying the CD together, it feels a bit unwholesome.
The Varese Sarabande release of this score contained a few more tracks but it's now very hard to find (much like the Varese release of Conan the Destroyer) so for now you'll have to make do with the more widely available Milan release. If it comes down to a choice between the two then Conan the Destroyer is certainly the superior score.
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